Panthers shoot all-time best under Hughes
By JARED PUTNAM Union Sentinel Editor

Josh Colwell taps in the putt. Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam

The Panthers killed two birds with one stone Tuesday, defeating both Fannin County and Gilmer County by posting a team score of 160, the lowest since Head Coach Jim Hughes has skippered the team.

Fannin posted a team score of 177 while Gilmer finished at 212.

Coach Hughes had previously talked about how he wanted the team to get down into the low 160 range and hopefully even the 150 range in order to have a better shot at going to a state tournament.

"I wasn't expecting [to get this low] this soon, but the conditions were perfect, no wind and warm," Coach Hughes said. "All in all it was a good match and a very good team effort. We're hoping to build on this."

Jake Farner was the low medalist with a season low 38. "He's been pretty consistent this year and this was by far his best round," Coach Hughes said." We're very pleased with that."

Colton Beattie also came in sub-40 with a 39. "He played with a kid [from Fannin] who had a 38, so he battled him all the way," Coach Hughes said. "He was two shots down going into the last hole and got one of them back on a really good par on hole nine."

Jake Levens came in third with a season low score of 40. Levens day included a birdie hole four. "Jake also had a very consistent round, he just had some bad luck on hole nine," the coach said. "He was disappointed with his last hole but I'm very pleased with his overall round."

Freshman Michael Akin rounded out the top four with a 43. "He had a nice par on hole nine and finished kind of strong," Coach Hughes said.

Morgan Bentley, the Panthers only female golfer, saw her first action of the season, finishing in third place among seven competitors. Bentley finished with a 56, just two strokes back of second place.

The Panthers also posted a victory over Hayesville last week, besting the Yellow Jackets by tallying a 178. Hayesville finished at 206.

Colton Beattie led the team with a 43, followed by Jake Farner with a 44, Jake Levens with a 45, and both Caleb Kelly and Josh Colwell had a 46.

Coach Hughes also pointed out that the Panthers will have a couple of good tests next week, including a matchup against Rabun County.

"I feel the Kingwood match is going to be very important because Rabun County probably has, on paper at least, the team we have to beat on our side [of the region.] Last year they beat us three times in close matches, so we're really looking forward to it," the coach said.